asked the Minister for Education if his attention has been drawn to the report of the Dublin city schools chief attendance officer on the causes of truancy in city schools; and the action he proposes to take in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin City Truancy.
40.
My attention has been drawn to the report mentioned in the question. The position should be kept in perspective. The average figures for school attendance for the Dublin city area are similar to those for the rest of the country, and are better than for similar areas in Britain and elsewhere.
Moreover, as stated in the report in question, 95 per cent of the cases of non-attendance at school can be cured by persuasion, advice and the judicious use by the school attendance officer of the School Attendance Act. I have recently authorised the creation of three posts as area supervisors in order to make for the more effective administration of the School Attendance Act in the Dublin area.
The other 5 per cent of cases relate to areas of social disadvantage. The problems outlined in the report are well known but, as the report acknowledges, there is no easy or short-term solution to such basic social ills. The Departments associated with social services, local authorities and voluntary agencies are all doing their best to help these families and the Minister for Social Welfare has recently set up a broadly based committee to advise him in regard to the development, operation and monitoring of a programme of pilot schemes to combat poverty. So far as education is concerned, my Department have under active consideration the question of designating particular areas as educational priority areas, and of deciding the best means to assist them in the light of findings now becoming available from the special Rutland Street project, which is financed by my Department and the Van Leer Foundation.